obaltan, sydney cbd

today me and three other friends decided to eat korean for lunch! and obaltan had been on my "to try" list for quite some time, so i suggested this place, and this place is where we went! it's right next to madang (on the right) tucked away behind pitt street and walking through that little alley way from pitt street was quite scary hahaha... i dont think normal people would be able to find it unless they delibrately did some research. it felt more like a locally kind of place. since it was lunch, the bottom floor wasn't opened yet so it looked really dark and frightening but then we found out we walked through the wrong entrance HAHAHAHAHA. there was an actual real entrance with counters and people but anyway how was obaltan?

restaurant:

complementary side dishes (included kimchi, mini pancakes, potato strips, tofu slices and another type of kimchi):

The tofu slices are always a favourite. The mini pancakes would have tasted better if it wasn't so cold and soaked in oil.

japchae ($12.00):

ok, this portion was very small compared to what we could get for $12.00 at other korean bbq houses. this version had capsicum, beef, onions and some wood ear fungus! the noodles were hard to break apart it was like a clump n__n" it had really strong flavours too much for me but friends enjoyed this very much. for me, the champion of japchae is still at hanabi.

bbq (pork belly: $17.00 for 8 strips; whole squid: $16.00):

Due to someone's fear of eating delicacies such as ox tongue, we had to choose something more "normal" so squid it was. 

We forgot the onion was still being bbqed and it was all burnt when we flipped it. I suggested to play scissors paper rock, and as punishment the loser had to be film eating the burnt onion (I know I shouldn't..) Luck was on my side, and I didn't lose! Instead the person who couldn't eat ox tongue lost which was hilarious because eating burnt things affected her so much.

hae mul ddeok bok ki small ($25.00):

Cylindrical tubes of rice cakes in a spicy hot sauce with seafood. These rice cakes were superior! One of the best versions I've tasted on my food journey. They arrived on a hot plate (for a crappy picture, its the thing on the top left of the table in the bbq picture above). They weren't as soft and the spiciness was just right. loved it hehehe satisfied my cravings for rice cakes. There were lots of seafoody goodness on the hot plate including mini prawns and even mussels! 

Bbqing at obaltan is bettter than most other indoor bbq houses because the metal smoke extraction tubes did their job and sucked away most of the smoke. i didn't smell so bad today, nor did it blow into my face! Even though not many of the staff knew english they were very kind and helpful. The prices here are reasonable and service is very quick. they have buzzers on each table! heheh so they wont come to you until you buzz. obaltan has exceeded my expectations.

obaltan
363a pitt st.
sydney 2000 australia
t: (02) 9269 0299
f: (02) 9269 0299
w: www.obaltansydney.com.au
e: info@obaltansydney.com.au